


Perceptive

by tiredd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-19 22:10:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19364896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiredd/pseuds/tiredd
Summary: Alya, according to Marinette, jumped to conclusions. But that doesn't mean they're unfounded ones. Like, come on, was it really all that odd to say that Ladybug went to Collège Françoise Dupont? After all, the book she had dropped could only be traced back to that school. Of course, perhaps Ladybug didn't, but it probably won't be too long until Alya comes to another, in her opinion, moreconcreteconclusion.





	Perceptive

They were just hanging out in Marinette’s room, talking while Marinette worked on a new shirt, and Alya scrolled through comments on her latest post on the Ladyblog; nothing serious. Just enjoying each other’s presence, and having careful carefree conversation.

But then Lila came up. Alya had only said, “I can’t wait to hear Lila’s latest story about helping Prince Ali in Achu! It’s always nice to hear how she’s helping our environment.”

And Marinette had mumbled to herself, “Yeah. Her latest _story_.” She obviously hadn’t meant for Alya to catch it, but she had, and it rubbed her the wrong way. Normally she tried to just steer clear of this subject, but she needed to clear this up. Just because Lila liked Adrien as well didn’t mean that Marinette could try and make her the enemy she wasn’t.

“Okay Marinette, seriously? Why do you think that everything she says is a lie? I can’t figure it out! Is it because she also likes Adrien, that you have to find something bad about her? I don’t understand.” She had set her phone to the side, and looked Marinette in the eye as she asked all this. Marinette had turned her sewing machine off, and turned to face her when she started, her jaw clenched.

“Why do you think this is about Adrien? Any time I question anything about her you automatically assume it’s because of him. I like Adrien, yes, but that has nothing to do with my dislike for her. She lies. And I hate lying. You know this.” Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she gave Alya this questioning look, and finally she just looked… betrayed. “Do you really think so little of me, to think all I care about is him?”

Alya straightened herself in her seat, feeling confused, and a bit defiant, to the statement, when Marinette continued, “She says that she can help Nino meet big name directors, that she travels the world helping environmental organizations, that she knows this person, that she knows that person, and that she can do that. What happens when it comes out that _nothing_ she has promised she did or will do for you all happens? I don’t like seeing any of you get hurt, and I’m sorry I keep bringing it up, but why do I have to provide proof, and she doesn’t?” Marinette paused. “Why don’t you trust me?”

Alya swallowed, and then finally broke eye contact, looking to the side. “I – I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” She looked back. “You’re right, maybe I was jumping the gun a bit there, but let me explain. When you found out that Lila was off to the library with Adrien, that’s when you began to distrust Lila. I hate to say it, but that really doesn’t give me the impression that you are looking out for all of us. I still don’t see what reason you have to think she’s lying, but okay, let’s say she is. Say she is lying. Why can’t you come up with proof? You hate lying; I hate having no proof.”

It felt as if they were at a standoff. Alya hated it; this was her best friend, and she _did_ trust her, but she just didn’t understand what Marinette wanted her to do without anything substantial. She wasn’t just going to dig into Lila’s life like that, and disrespect this person she had only known for a short while. She perhaps shouldn’t have assumed that it was all about Adrien, but what was she supposed to think when that was what set Marinette off?

“First of all,” Marinette began, looking more and more irritated. “I _didn’t_ start questioning Lila’s truthfulness when I heard they were going to the library together, I started questioning it when she said she was Ladybug’s best friend! I mean, come on! Who in their right mind would announce to the world that they’re a superhero’s best friend? That’s Making Yourself Villain Bait 101!” By this point she was pacing around the room, moving her arms emphatically about.

“I heard Ladybug herself say that what Lila said in that video wasn’t true.” She paused a bit in her pacing, panic quickly alighting her face before going away just as fast, going right back to it, “And Jagged Stone has never had a cat! At least not within the recent years in which Lila could have “saved” it! It’s just been Fang! In every article he has explicitly only talked about having his one crocodile, and how he didn’t plan on having any other pet! That man isn’t private at all, he would have had something about his pet cat _somewhere_ even if for a short time!” Marinette huffed, looking almost desperate as she turned towards Alya. “I know that’s only two counterpoints, but that has to be enough for you to think that she’s lied, and to look a little deeper into the things she says, right?”

Alya sat back in her chair, giving her a once-over, before glancing away. “Okay, the Jagged thing is kind of convincing. He is pretty public about that sort of thing. I’ll look into that.” She picked her phone back up, but at the sight of Ladybug on her screen, looked to Marinette again. “Didn’t Lila say, though, that she and Ladybug were having a fight or something? Couldn’t that just be why Ladybug said all that?”

“Exactly, _Lila_ said that. Just because she said it doesn’t mean it’s true. Ladybug has stated before that she hates lying, and she didn’t like Lila lying about _her_ specifically.” Marinette looked kind of guilty for second, but then went on explaining. “Maybe she shouldn’t have called Lila out the way she did, but still, I don’t think it was in the way Lila said it was; as two friends having a small fight. I believe Ladybug when she says she doesn’t know Lila.”

“Okay, one more counterpoint, girl. What if it was as you said, Ladybug not wanting anyone close to her revealing that they are close to her, and that was her way of covering it up?” Alya felt that was pretty solid. Sounded like something Ladybug would do.

“I’m 100 percent certain, Alya, that if they were friends, Ladybug would have instilled the need to not say a word before Lila said anything on your blog. And, if it was as you said, then Ladybug would have made sure Lila knew the importance of not talking about it anymore to keep herself safe. Also, _if_ Lila was so close to her, Ladybug would be more distraught whenever she’s akumatized, ergo they are not.”

Alya mulled over that. It made sense; Ladybug didn’t want her and Nino to let on their secret identities, and when it came to reporters, Ladybug was trying to be as impartial as she could be now to not let on any relation between them. But how would Marinette have any knowledge about that kind of thing. “You have a point. But how do you-“

The hatch raised, causing Marinette to jump up in surprise, and Sabine stepped up into view. “Hey you two, we have dinner ready!” She looked at them to see Alya sitting, and Marinette standing… a bit too casually, and asked, “l hope I caught you at a good time?”

“Yep! Let’s go Alya!” Marinette said as she hurried down, and their conversation was cast aside.

 

* * *

 

 A few hours later, back in her own room, Alya was looking into the Jagged thing.

She didn’t quite like that she was, for Lila’s sake, but she would look into this for Marinette’s, and hopefully this would clear things up.

Because why would Lila lie about all this? Everyone would like her for who she was, even if it didn’t include all of her more extraordinary details. Honestly, her parents were diplomats, how outlandish does Marinette really think her stories are with that as her background?

But, Alya was finding _nothing_ about Jagged having anything to do with cats. In fact, there was one article that she found with Jagged saying he wasn’t going to have any other pets than Fang, because he could possibly get jealous, and he didn’t want anything to get hurt. It was dated about two and a half years prior, and while it had been on a lesser known site, there was also the video of him saying it.

That was a red flag. That meant the chance of Lila lying about how she got her tinnitus shot way up. But Alya wasn’t going to go say she didn’t have it at all, even if she did lie about how. Maybe the story was embarrassing?

Alya was worried now, though. If she went to Marinette about this, it would just solidify her point, and maybe she’d get more outright with trying to push Lila down. Girl was crafty when she wanted to be.

And maybe she’d want her to investigate more into Lila’s claims, which Alya still didn’t feel comfortable doing. It wasn’t right to try and tear her down, even if she was lying about things. Maybe she’d have a talk with her. She’d have to explain why she looked into it in the first place, but she knew that when she’d explain why she did it - to clear her name and put this fight to rest - Lila would understand.

She pushed her laptop to the side, and left to get ready for bed. When she laid down in her bed, she grabbed her phone, put it on charge, and opened up the Ladyblog. She scrolled through some comments about the latest akuma, and then went into her archive to look at her initial interview with Lila.

Marinette had said this was what set her off. “How to Be Villain Bait 101!” she said.

She listened to Lila tell her story again; about how Ladybug saving her life led to them being friends. Maybe Marinette was right about this too? Alya knew how important it was to keep her identity as Rena Rouge a secret, and that she shouldn’t play up her connection to Ladybug.

Of course, before she’d become Rena Rouge, she had told Marinette that she would let her know if she ever became a superhero, and then she hadn’t. In fact, Marinette had said if she was one, she wouldn’t have told her about it at all, hadn’t she? Alya knew she wasn’t, but that conversation with her - and the later one with Ladybug - had led her to keep it a secret, because she better understood what the implications of letting those close to her, that were not involved, entailed.

Lila may not have been a superhero, but connections were almost as bad as the identity getting out. If people knew that Rena Rouge was in some way connected to Marinette, then she’d be targeted, just like Lila was.

However, typically it’d be the akumatized person targeting them, wouldn’t it? Not becoming the akumatized person. The heroes tend to be more distraught over the civilians, because they could be more easily hurt.

What all did Marinette know about? It was odd that the very night they talked about revealing superhero identities, she had become one. And she had been with them that day when Nino became Carapace. _He’d been trying to prove that he was… strong enough to protect me._ She thought, eyes going wide.

This wasn’t a coincidence, was it? That Marinette had been there the days they’d been chosen.

Alya sat up, and began racking her brain for anything that could help her figure out was going on. How did Marinette have all this information? Why exactly was that what set her off? Was her being there those days really connected?

And then, abruptly, she remembered something she had just shrugged off when it happened.

_”I know what your secret is!” Manon had said_

_“W-w-what secret?” Marinette had responded._

_“Ladybug is your best friend! That's how you both always know what the other one's gonna do!” Manon replied, like she had figured everything out._

If she remembered correctly, Marinette had looked shocked after that, but then became relieved, like this was something no one would believe. Hell, Alya _hadn’t_. But with all this new information – _Marinette was set off when Lila claimed to be Ladybug’s best friend!_

And! And she’s gotten her a _surprise interview!_ How could she forget about that? The literal best present she’d ever gotten: getting the _first_ personal interview with Ladybug! Not even TVi had any connections other than the lucky catch after an akuma attack like the rest of them.

Oh! And the day she found the history book! Marinette was the one to show her what was on the scroll - wait, had the book been Marinette’s and Ladybug was holding on to it for her before she lost it?

Everything finally made sense, well maybe not the Marinette’s best friend being Ladybug part; _Alya_ was her best friend. But Marinette could be Ladybug’s best friend without the reverse being true, perhaps.

Hell. Yeah, this was it. Marinette was close to Ladybug, and she kept it under wraps. And maybe, just maybe, she nudged Ladybug in her friend’s direction for Miraculous options.

Ladybug and Marinette really did dislike liars, and they probably held a grudge against Lila for that lie, and were more prone to distrust her because of that.

Alya felt like her mind was swimming with all this information, but she felt _sure_ this was it. It felt right, and in character for Marinette to help Ladybug from the sidelines, and give her friends more in the spotlight opportunities to help the city. Marinette was _crafty_ , and just so, so kind.

She teared up a bit, and laid back down, putting her already black-screened phone on her nightstand. She curled up, pulling her blanket up to her chin, and thought about how she planned to go about this with Marinette the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> this has been in my head for 2? 3 months now? anyways, i liked playing around with this idea. hope y'all enjoyed!


End file.
